Together
by Cohen101
Summary: Mondler Stealth Oneshot. Chandler muses about his relationship with Monica until they get rudely, interrupted.


**A/N: Mondler Stealth One-Shot. For those of you who read A B C's of Love, don't worry, haven't forgotten it, and I really want to finish it up. After school :P Anyways, enjoy the Mondler mushiness and I always enjoy any feedback. **

**Together**

It was amazing what they had, Chandler thought to himself, snuggling up to Monica, her petite body filling the space beside him comfortably. It was utterly amazing what they had together.

Chandler grinned into her dark hair, thinking how lucky he was, taking a deep breath through his nose so he could absorb the smell of her choice shampoo before they could be disturbed. He pressed himself closer, snaking his arm around her waist and searching gently for her hand.

He loved that word.

Together.

The way that it just rolled off his tongue like hot fudge on a cold, gloomy day. It was so simple; three words rolled into one that when taken individually, expressed his mission that night in London.

To, get, her.

And did he ever.

He smiled softly to himself as she subconsciously gravitated towards him in her peaceful slumber, her fingers falling delicately in the spaces between his, feeling as though their hands were created for the sole purpose of the action.

She was so perfect in every other way, it seemed unreal to him he never realized it before. In retrospect, he always somewhat had, days of sharing recliners and nights of physical contact that he was sure fell within the normal limits of platonic friendship expressing something more to the both of them at different periods of their lives. On some levels maybe he hoped that this would someday happen, but right here and right now, it was simply amazing to him that it had.

They were together.

Albeit they were together in a horrendously dysfunctional 'secret' way, but what counted was it was still him and her, together, alone, connected in body and mind, in bed and out.

If my name was Chandler, he mused, which it is, and I had a beautiful women who understood me and appreciated me, which I do, I would be the luckiest guy in the world… which I am.

He was the luckiest guy in the world because she was already his best friend. They didn't have to go through awkward first dates and hugs because they'd already gone through accidentally severed appendages and heartaches together.

They already had a certain amount of stability in their lives which they both craved for and demanded in a relationship. They'd already experienced monumental fights as friends, so when the occasional lovers spat emerged; there was the understanding that there would be no desertion. No desecration.

Managing to maintain this relationship, which he was comfortable calling it now, had been among the hardest and easiest things he'd ever done. Hard because the outcome of failure would devastate not only him and her, but their friends as well, and easy because the door for this kind of ending was not only shut, but seemingly locked and barred.

He longed for them to reveal to their friends what they'd been hiding, to be able to kiss Monica whenever the his heart wished and not instead settle for the subtle looks over the table, secretly holding hands under the blankets, stealing the odd kiss under the pretense of bathroom breaks, sneaking around at ungodly hours of the night, avoiding detection and spilling lies for their behavior hour after hour.

The time to tell their close friends, family even, would come soon, but Chandler wasn't anywhere near that point. In fact, neither was Monica. As much as he longed to show his affection unrestrictedly in the outside world he realized it could be potentially disastrous if the unimaginable occurred. The amount of pressure for the two of them to evolve from the delicate stages of their relationship would be unbearable, another uncalled for obstacle to overcome.

Therefore he was happy with how things were, how amazing they were going, and that for once in his life; he wasn't jumping the gun to 'what's next?'

"What are you thinking?" Monica whispered, having stirred silently and Chandler leaned across her side and kissed her good morning.

"How amazing you are," Chandler replied honestly, his eyes glazed from the affection he felt.

Monica smiled, giving him a kiss which he returned eagerly. She was the first one to pull away, panting slightly, "See someone isn't tired after last night," she commented, a twinkle in her eye.

Chandler puffed out his chest, "Last night was nothing; there's still paste left in this toothpaste tube. That is, if you want to squeeze it all out," he wrapped his arms around her body while he said this, squeezing her tightly.

She laughed and twisted around to face him; resting her head on his chest as it rose and fell in unison with his breaths.

"How was your sleep?" he asked softly, not wanting to ruin the moment. Every time they were alone together, it seemed like they were in a moment. Oblivious to everything around them, so unconcerned with the outside world.

Which, thinking about it, probably accounted for them almost getting caught so many times.

"Amazing," Monica replied, closing her eyes and allowing herself to melt in Chandler's embrace, willing herself to remember this moment for the rest of her life. It was so perfect and she wanted to concrete it in her memory.

There were noises outside and Chandler made a hasty move to stand but Monica pulled him back as her head rolled off his body. "Don't go," she whined and Chandler grinned.

"It seems like our positions have changed," he commented seductively, exerting virtually no resistance to her pull. "I'm going to have to go sometime," he reminded, knowing that those words had been spoken by both of them on numerous instances. It was a game they played; though it was usually Chandler the one begging Monica to stick around for a couple minutes more. He knew what was coming next, as did she,

"Why?"

Chandler didn't both trying to remove her vice-like grip from his wrists, "Because a certain someone may get suspicious if he wakes up to an empty bed," Chandler explained, cuddling back into the pillows and stroking Monica's back with his free arm.

Monica raised her eyebrows, knowing just as well as him that Joey wouldn't think twice about an empty bed. "Joey won't care," Monica stated, glancing up at him oddly. Why did he want to leave? She must have done something significant to force him to call on Joey's almost non-existent observational skills, but she couldn't remember anything of the sort.

"He's been getting suspicious," Chandler explained, "Yesterday he asked me why I had… certain protective gear," he said delicately, "In my bag."

"And what did you said?" she asked, amused. She let go of his wrist and instead used it to curl a short strand of his hair around her finger. She could almost imagine how the conversation had taken place.

"That they were an early birthday present for him…"

"An early birthday present for the birthday 7 months from now?" Monica asked skeptically.

"Yep," Chandler nodded, sheepishly. Joey was quite gullible. He cringed from the memory, one of the few he didn't find at all comical after the initial encounter. He made himself comfortable in Monica's bed. There was no way that Joey would think anything of an empty bed and the both of them knew it. Even if he was to walk in on them as they were, lying naked with matching bed head next to each other, he'd believe any tall-tale they'd weave.

Monica took his hand from under the covers, "Wouldn't you rather be here with me?" she questioned, leaning in over to kiss him, moving so that he was beneath her.

A loud knock on the door caused both of them to freeze in their extraordinarily scandalous positions. A full second of still where Chandler swore he could hear Monica's heart, and he let instinct take over and ducked under the covers just in time.

The door opened and Rachel slandered in, opening the curtains with way too much vim for such an early time in the morning, calling out cheerfully, "Rise and shine!"

Chandler winced under the covers, cursing himself for not getting out when he had the chance.

"I'll meet you outside, okay Rach?" Monica squeaked in a slightly strained voice and Chandler hit her softly in the leg for not being cool. Monica kicked him back and he bit back his whimper, cursing her for making such a noticeable action. Rachel didn't seem to be picking up on Monica's tone or gestures, or the extra body concealed in her covers so Chandler allowed himself a small sigh of relief. So far, so good.

"Do you know where Chandler is?"

Chandler shook his head vigorously, as Monica answered with a tight, "NO!"

The bed sunk down from Rachel's weight and Chandler stopped shaking, moving away from the lump in front of his face to the best of his ability. There was no comment from Rachel concerning the bulge that must have been showing because of his body, but after almost sitting on him, he didn't understand how she couldn't tell that someone other than Monica was in it.

Monica fingers started tapping against the bedspread, the vibrations coming through the mattress. _SAY SOMETHING ELSE!_ Chandler thought urgently.

"It's early," she continued shakily, "He's still probably in bed." Monica's hand was shaking by his head and he reached up carefully with his hand and wrapped his finger around her own.

"Mon, it's almost ten in the morning! I'm surprised you slept this long. _Joey's_ already up, and he said that Chandler never came to bed."

He felt Rachel shift closer. He immediately shifted as far away as humanly possible.

"Are you alright?" he heard Rachel asked, "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine!" Monica reassured with a high laugh that told Chandler she was anything but fine.

Rachel moved even closer and Chandler bent in ways he knew bones were never supposed to bend. The back of his head was squeezed against Monica's special place, and as much as he liked her special place, this was not how it was meant to be touched.

Monica let go of his finger, "You know what? I think I do feel a little sick. Yeah, maybe I've got the stomach flu or something… Will you come to the bathroom with me?"

Chandler sighed audibly in relief as Rachel's lump of a butt left the bed, "Sure Mon, sure," she answered understandingly.

Her hand touched his head and he froze.

They were over. They were found out. Rachel would pull back the covers to see what kind of abnormal growth Monica had on her body and see the both of them naked, then proceed to piecing it together followed by telling all their friends.

They were done.

Together would be ruined forever.

And he had _liked_ together.

He held his breath, preparing for the humiliating uncoverment, but to his surprise she just pushed off of it without a word and Monica coughed nervously.

"Common Mon," Rachel urged and Chandler realized with a cringe that Rachel didn't yet know that she was clothes-less.

In the faint light he could see Monica's fingers beginning to fidget under the cover, "The thing is Rach, uh, well," she spluttered and Chandler could just imagine Rachel's confused face. "It was really hot in here last night," she hinted. Chandler buried his head in the mattress, his one hand pinned up above his head and his other arm twisted behind his back and between Monica's legs.

"…OH!" Rachel finally exclaimed, making a hasty retreat to the door. "Well, in that case, um, I'll be right outside the, uh, door!"

The door quickly opened and closed and Chandler detangled himself from Monica and the bed spread, gulping down air as his head popped out. He couldn't help but laugh at Monica's bright red face, earning himself a light slap on the arm.

"It's not funny!" Monica protested and Chandler badly masked his next laugh with a cough.

"I wasn't laughing," Chandler choked, crawling out of bed and disappearing to the floor in search of his boxers.

Monica did the same, pulling on her pants, "I swear to God I thought she was going to sit on your head," she whispered, keeping her voice low. Rachel was still right outside the door.

"Didn't I tell you?" Chandler asked, his dressing halted, "I'm Mr. Fantastic. I can stretch to unimaginable positions," he jumped on the bed and helped Monica snap her bra strap together.

"Thank goodness for that," Monica praised, laughing, turning around after he finished and kissing him softly. "How are you going to get out of here?" she asked, pulling away as Rachel coughed in the living room.

Chandler shrugged, looking around, "I'll hide behind the door while you leave and clear out after you two are gone… you do look pale," Chandler commented as an afterthought. With the red blush gone she looked almost like a ghost. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, concerned, brushing a strand of astounding hair from her face.

"I'm fine," Monica reassured, pulling his hand away gently and keeping it in her own, "Don't worry."

Chandler nodded, doing a somersault off the bed and grabbing his shirt. He stood up, slipping it on over his head, Monica staring at his body appreciatively. He laughed when he noticed her gaze, grinning, "I see what you like now, you dirty women," he teased.

"Shut-up and get up against the door," she ordered and he raised his eyebrows.

"We in the army now, sergeant?" he asked and she nodded, pushing him gently towards the door. "Well then you better say your good-bye, because the feds are coming," Chandler continued.

Monica looked up at him doubtfully, but played along, "And why would that be?"

Chandler lifted up his arms, flexing his biceps, adopting a macho voice, "Cause these guns are 'outta control!"

Monica squealed as he lifted her up, kissing her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They crashed into the wall, which only served to intensify their kiss, until Rachel called through the walls,

"Mon, you alright? You want me to come in?"

"Sorry," Chandler whispered guiltily, putting her down softly.

Monica smiled, "That's alright. You weren't the only one."

He hid behind the door, nodding, and she opened it.

"You alright Monica?" Rachel's concerned voice questioned immediately.

Chandler could see Monica nodding for his spot, "I think I'm feeling a little better," she admitted, her hand on the door to prevent Rachel's entrance.

"Well okay…" Rachel reluctantly accepted. "I have to talk to you about something," she jumped topics quickly. "What do you think it would mean if Ross-…"

She cut off and Chandler pressed his back against the wall. She'd caught on to something, just as Monica was about to lead her away from the room. They were so close he could almost reach out and grab the freedom.

"What?" Monica asked nervously.

Rachel took a step into the room and Chandler closed his eyes. How perfect would the world be if anyone he couldn't see couldn't see him?

"Aren't you going to do your bed?" she asked suspiciously. Chandler opened his eyes a crack to see that they had in fact forgotten to make the bed in all their haste. "You always make your bed Mon…" Rachel trailed off.

Oh God.

"I think I'm going to puke!"

Chandler froze. Did he just say that out loud? Before he knew what was happening, the door had slammed shut, Monica bolting away and leaving him alone in the room.

He still wasn't sure if it was him or Monica who had said that, but as Rachel wasn't in the room demanded that whoever be in it show themselves, it was safe to assume it had done the deed and would keep Rachel away from the room long enough for him to slip out and escape. After hearing the door to the bathroom close, he quickly slunk out the apartment, shutting the door behind him and breathing out deeply.

They seriously were going to get caught soon.

It was inevitable.

But, _God_, did he ever like that woman…

**Cohen101**


End file.
